GEN-I Sonce project recognized as a rising financial star

26. March 2018

The green bonds issued last year by GEN-I Sonce have received a distinguished award from the international Climate Bonds Initiative organization.

The GEN-I Group was recently the recipient of a major new international award. A year after GEN-I Sonce, a subsidiary 100% owned by the GEN-I Group, issued its first green bonds in the amount of EUR 14 million, the international Climate Bonds Initiative organization presented the aforementioned company the ‘Green Bond Pioneer Award’ at its third annual conference in London.

The award is a distinguished honor intended for companies, financial institutions and governments for their achievements in the development of green bonds. GEN-I Sonce received the award in the category of new countries that are home to the issuers of green bonds on the global market. The international Climate Bonds Initiative organization presented the award in this category to eleven recipients, only three of which come from Europe.

I would like to thank the Climate Bonds Initiative organization for its recognition of the GEN-I Group’s strategy, which facilitates sustainable green investments by customers. Those investments are financed indirectly by the Group through the issue of green bonds,” stated the Financial Director of the GEN-I Group, Gregor Lojk, while accepting the award.

The GEN-I Group has thus found itself in the prominent company of governments, financial institutions and enterprises that are paving the way for investments in climate-friendly and low-carbon projects through the issue of green bonds. The GEN-I Group is committed to supporting sustainable development and the rapid transition to a low-carbon society, and remains the leading promoter of ideas and best practices in the area of environmentally friendly solutions for end-customers in Slovenia and the wider region, with the aim of increasing energy efficiency and independence.

The decisive and sustainability oriented business model of GEN-I Sonce, which can be seen in the systematic pursuit of environmental principles, is not merely an empty promise. The first measurable positive effects were seen already in 2017 in the form of a decrease in annual CO2 emissions by 1,600,000 kg and an increase in the annual production of green energy by 3,400,492 kWh. The earmarking of funds exclusively for environmentally friendly products and the traceability of success are two of the more recognizable conditions for the issue of such debt instruments.

Since its entry on the market of self-sufficient energy products until the present, GEN-I Sonce has already built more than 300 solar power plants, which exceeds initial expectations. The high level of demand derives in part from the fact that this service is accessible to nearly all potential investors in home solar power plants due to the favorable terms of financing. “Green bonds thus indirectly include elements of social impact bonds, as the majority of financial benefits have been passed through directly to end-customers,” stated Gregor Lojk with satisfaction.

SID banka and Nova KBM are the largest investors in the green bonds, which mature in 2024. In line with the non-binding green bond principles (GBP) prescribed by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), the green bonds bring a new approach to the Slovenian market in the search for funds for projects that promote the production of electricity from renewable sources, the sustainable management of waste and water, the energy efficient construction of buildings and property, and cleaner transport services and products.

Presentation of award to the GEN-I Group at the conference "Green Bond Awards 2018" in London (from left to right: Gregor Lojk, Alban De Fay).